La Liga | Gameweek 37

May 18, 2025 at 6pm UK

Estadio de Balaidos

Celta Vigo vs Rayo Vallecano

Match preview

Celta are on the brink of securing a top-seven finish for the first time since the 2015–16 season after winning three of their last four matches.

The Galician side recorded home victories against Villarreal and Sevilla either side of a narrow defeat to Real Madrid, before edging out Real Sociedad 1–0 in Tuesday's meeting at the Reale Arena.

Alfon González scored his fifth league goal of the season to secure Celta's third win in five away games, putting them four points ahead of Rayo and Osasuna ahead of the penultimate matchday.

Claudio Giráldez's team will go into Sunday's match hoping to achieve three consecutive La Liga victories for the first time since May 2021. Such a result would guarantee Europa League qualification with only one match remaining.

Los Celestes will be inspired by the fact that they have the fifth-best home record in the league, having won 11, drawn three and lost four of their 18 La Liga matches at Balaidos this season.

They have also avoided defeat in each of their previous six home matches against Rayo (W4, D2), keeping clean sheets in each of their last three.

Although Rayo may still harbour hopes of clinching Europa League qualification ahead of Celta, their main priority will be to hold off the competition for eighth place, as they look to end their 24-year wait for European football.

Although Inigo Perez's team are currently in the Conference League qualification spot, they will be wary of Osasuna, who are just outside the top eight with the same number of points, and of Mallorca and Valencia, who are one and three points behind in ninth and tenth place respectively.

After taking just one point from three games in April, Rayo got their European bid back on track with consecutive 1–0 victories against Getafe and Las Palmas.

They appeared to be on course for a third successive win when Jorge de Frutos and Florian Lejeune scored to give them a two-goal lead at half-time in Thursday's home match against Real Betis. However, Cucho Hernández and Isco found the net in the second half to deny Rayo all three points.

Rayo will have to recover quickly from Thursday's draw as they travel to Balaidos, aiming for their first away win against Celta since a 2-0 victory in November 2013.

The visitors are bidding to complete a league double over Sunday's opponents after clinching a 2-1 victory in January's reverse fixture.

Recent Performance

Celta Vigo La Liga form:

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Rayo Vallecano La Liga form:

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Team News

Celta defender Carl Starfelt will miss the final two games of the season due to a hamstring injury sustained last month.

Brazilian midfielder Jailson is also unlikely to be included in the matchday squad, having missed the last two matches due to a knee injury.

Marcos Alonso is set to return to the starting lineup after serving a one-match ban following his dismissal in last Saturday's win over Sevilla.

As for the visitors, Abdul Mumin and Jonathan Montiel are both unavailable due to knee and quad injuries respectively.

Forward Sergio Camello was omitted from Thursday's squad due to injury, making him doubtful for Sunday's away match.

At the very least, Randy Nteka will provide Pérez with a useful option off the bench, having returned to the matchday squad in midweek following a three-game absence due to injury.

Possible starting lineup

Celta Vigo possible starting lineup:

Guaita; Rodriguez, Lago, Alonso; Mingueza, Moriba, Sotelo, Alvarez; Aspas, Alfon, Duran

Rayo Vallecano possible starting lineup:

Batalla; Balliu, Lejeune, Aridane, Chavarria; Ciss, Diaz; Ratiu, Palazon, De Frutos; Garcia